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Development of the exams

History of the MRCP(UK) examinations

Founded in the 16th and 17th centuries to set and maintain standards for the emerging medical profession, the three Royal Colleges of Physicians have used examinations as a method of achieving this aim throughout their histories. While the methods of examining and the knowledge assessed have changed almost beyond recognition in the 500 years since the foundation of the first Royal College of Physicians, passing the MRCP(UK) Diploma continues to demonstrate that a doctor has obtained a standard that is recognised worldwide as a symbol of excellence in medicine, and that is something that the founders of the Colleges would have wholeheartedly supported.